In many applications, hydraulic cylinders are utilized as linear actuators. Linear transducers are typically utilized in these applications to monitor the position of a piston or piston rod contained within the hydraulic cylinder. Because hydraulic cylinders employing linear transducers need to be interchangeable with other hydraulic cylinders, it has been challenging to find a way of installing a linear transducer in a welded cylinder tube while providing access to internal components for serviceability and troubleshooting.
Hydraulic cylinder assemblies, such as the hydraulic cylinder monitoring apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,048, have been provided for supplying a linear transducer with a hydraulic cylinder. While this solution works well, it employs a supplemental end cap bolted to an end cap at the base end of the cylinder. Moreover, when the cylinder is collapsed, the wiper assembly is positioned at an end of the linear transducer proximal to the base end of the cylinder. In such a configuration, start-up resistance must be provided to ensure that the electrical circuit including the linear transducer is correctly configured. Previously, to provide this start-up resistance, resistors have been added to the electrical circuit. However, this solution requires additional components, adding to the complexity of the resulting cylinder assembly. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a hydraulic cylinder assembly which includes a linear transducer, wherein the cylinder assembly does not employ a supplemental end cap so that the cylinder assembly is more easily assembled and disassembled, and wherein the cylinder assembly does not require resisters for providing an initial start-up resistance.